What do we have here?
I've been cogitating like a Mech-Adept fiend for months about this and finally decided to do something about it. When I started back in 40k I made a list of typical terrain:
- Hills
- Trees
- Walls
- Fences
- Buildings
- Ruins
- Scattered objects
- Rock formations
- Bunkers/defences
- Containers
As you see first on the list was hills, your defacto standard terrain, and I went on to make my modular hill. But what happens if you can't get pink/white/blue/peach [delete as appropriate] insulation foam? Well foam card is a much easier material to source, although maybe a little more expensive in the long term. However, you can get it on ebay, at places like Paperchase and many art supply shops so you can make a hill-like structure that will function in much the same way as a hill. In fact Dawn of War has many such elements of scenery similar to what I propose, although sadly I can't seem to find a reference shot of what I'm on about.
The concept is partly inspired by my walk to the train station. Below is some shots of a concrete ramp leading up out of Port Street Car Park. This split level 'waste ground' has quite a 40k feel about it and although you don't get quite the 'funneling' effect from these images I've exaggerated in my build because it really is quite a nice effect.
Here's the exact location in google maps [which I love with an unhealthy passion], you can see the ramp just below where it says Port St. Of particualr note is the L shaped building in the bottom right. There's a blue placque on the wall just by the bridge over the canal and it states one of the world's first aircraft builders, A.V. Roe and Company was established at Brownsfield Mill, by Alliott Verdon Roe and his brother Humphrey Verdon Roe on 1 January 1910. Avro went onto produce the Lancaster and Vulcan bombers and it's a nice little bit of history I get to pass every night.